There is almost no limit to the kinds of surface on which you can paint in oil. As with no other medium, the entire canvas is usually covered with paint, and the only part that is left showing is the weave of the fabric. Even that is becoming less true, with the growing use of ever thicker layers of pigment.

Although I prefer to carry prepared canvas boards because they are light and don’t need elaborate preparation or stretching, there is a multitude of other possibilities. You can use hardboard panels, plywood or metal. All of these need to be rubbed down with sandpaper before you start work, to give the paint something to key into. This roughness is called ‘tooth’. Read the rest of this entry »